


Time Travel Time!

by orphan_account



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Adventure, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Minor Swearing, Nice gaz, Time Travel, Wholesome, i don’t know what i’m doing, older dib, qpp, queerplatonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:07:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24051823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Due to a sudden turn of events, the duo are now trapped in the past, paired up with their past versions.What could possibly go wrong?
Relationships: Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> •There’s a time jump.  
> ( Dib is now 16. God knows how old Zim is)

“Hey Zim, dimension travel already exists, right? Like the theory’s proven or something”

Dib sat on a desk and was soldering some sort of computer chip. Zim however, was on the other side of the room looking at his tablet. 

“Of course it is! Why would you ask?”

The two were in room with a giant portal-like machine. Papers and blueprints were all over the place. 

“Well, I was wondering why we’re making a dimensional portal thingy if we could just buy one or something”

The two were wearing matching turtleneck sweaters. It was white and had a red, yellow and blue stripe on it. But Dib had his trench coat over it. 

“Tsk tsk tsk. You poor, oblivious, filthy Earth worm”. Zim shakes his head slowly and walks over to the human. He then continued,  
“Dimension travel is as dangerous and pretty illegal as time travel. There are strict rules and we need a license to have one”.

“So we’re just gonna make one and pretend we don’t know shit about the rules of dimension travel when we get caught??? _That’s actually a good plan_ ”. 

Dib finished soldering and handed the chip to the Irken. 

“Why _**wouldn’t**_ it be? I am the _almighty_ and _brilliant_ Zim after all!”. Zim had a proud smile on his face as he placed the chip into the tablet. Dib rolled his eyes with his hands crossed. 

The portal-looking machine started to light up. Both of them stood in front of it.  
Dib had his eyes and mouth wide open, he was completely amazed. His amber eyes sparkled. Zim on the other hand, had his arms crossed. He smirked when he glanced over to see the teen’s reaction.

_**“I MADE WAFFLES!”** _

Gir’s shriek managed to catch the two off guard, making them jump. The robot barged into the room, kicking the door wide open and ran in as he carried a very, very tall and unstable stack of waffles with a lot maple syrup dripping from it. 

_“Wait Gir!”-_

Before Zim could stop the hyper robot, the unstable stack of waffles dropped onto parts of the portal’s exposed wires.  
It messed up the wiring and the portal started to light up faster and brighter and brighter and brighter until all they could see was white light.

_**“ZIM!!”** _

_**“DIB!!”** _

The two tried to reach out for each other, but the light blinded them. Their voices started to get muffled until all they could hear was deafening silence. 

.....

.....

.....

Dib groaned, his entire body felt sore .  
But he felt something... kicking him slightly in the back. He then started to hear his name being called out. 

_“-ng! Dib-filth. Dib-human. Hey stinki. Pathetic Earth worm baby. Puny monkey. Meat bag”_

“Oh shut up. It’s Saturday. We don’t have school, idiot”, Dib groaned and curled up, refusing to open his eyes. 

“Well too bad, stinki. The portal disappeared. Well, Zim thinks it teleported itself but he can’t really tell”. 

Zim likes to refer himself in third person. Dib doesn’t know exactly why. The other Irkens don’t really do that so it’s just Zim.  
Dib hates to admit it, but he finds it pretty cool.

“W..hat?” Dib finally sat up. He rubbed his eyes and glanced around the room.  
Zim was standing next to him with his hands on his hips. The alien finally stopped kicking him. 

“Don’t tell me we’ll have to build it againnn”, Dib whined and lay back down on the ground. He still felt sore and tired. 

“Zim is gonna go buy some snacks from the store. You can just roll around here. Want anything?”

“Nah, I’m good”

The alien headed out. 

After a few minutes, Dib finally got up and stretched. He then headed upstairs.  
But as he faced the glass tube elevator he stopped, looking confused. The elevator was far smaller than he remembered. 

“W-what?”. Dib looked around. “Wait.... why is everything a little different? Where’s all the decorations and stuff?”

The hallway of Zim’s base looked more darker and gloomier than Dib remembered. It was a little eerie. 

Dib decided to walk around the underground base a little more. Something’s off. Something’s not right here. 

...

As he wondered around, Dib stopped when he heard something. No, someone. Someone laughing?? 

The laughter became more clear as he tried to find the source. “Wait.... that’s Zim’s laughter. Is he back?”

It came from a room. But when the human opened the door, he froze. 

_**”What the actual fuck”** _

Zim was standing in front of the giant computer screen. But he was smaller and was wearing his invader outfit.  
The Irken stopped laughing and turned towards Dib, making eye contact. 

Both of them looked at each other confused. So very confused. 

Dib screamed. The Irken then followed. 

..............

Meanwhile, the other Zim was outside, walking towards the convenient store. He was humming as he looked down on the cement ground. 

It was still morning. So it was bright and cool. 

Suddenly, a small kid jumped in front of him from the nearby bushes, blocking his path. 

“Uh could you- _HOLY IRK_ ”

Zim took a few steps back. 

“You loo- wait.... Zim..???”. The little boy who stood in front of him was no other than a younger version of Dib. His eyes widen and he stared with confusion. 

Zim blinked a couple times and stared at the smaller Dib.

“Dib, what did you do?!”

“I didn’t do anything!!! What did YOU do?!? Why are you taller?! Why are you wearing that instead of your usual shirt dress thing?!”

“Zim has not done ANYTHING!!! YOU’RE the one who got smaller and- wait... oh no... oh no no... _how old are you?_ ”

“13”, the boy answered with his arms crossed. 

Zim puts his arms on his hips and looked around. He observed his surroundings and finally realised that he is in the past. 

The alien immediately ran back, leaving younger Dib. But of course, Dib chased after him. 

“Where do you think YOU’RE going, you alien scum?! I know you’re up to something!! Don’t think you can get away with this!!”

....................

Back at the base, older Dib is now strapped to a chair. Thoughts and ideas about what is happening was roaming his mind. 

_Could this be dimension portal’s fault? But this isn’t another dimension.. it’s the past?_

“Your sudden growth is truly suspicious. _Tell Zim what you did!_ ”

Dib looked at the angry and confused miniature Zim. He never realised how short Zim used to be. Dib has to admit it’s quite adorable. 

“ANSWER ME, FILTHY EARTH WORM!!”

Zim was gripping Dib’s trench coat’s collar tightly. Their faces were just inches apart. 

“I uh.... Look I... I don’t think... Well.. uh.. You see, I’m... actually im still unsure but... I’m uh...”

Zim’s antenna twitched in irritation. Dib was struggling to find words. He thinks he either went back into the past or this might be some alternate universe. 

“Fine! Zim will find out for himself then!”

The chair that Dib was strapped to transformed into a table. A dissection table. 

Zim headed towards another table which had a bunch of sharp objects neatly arranged. His hand hovered above them as he tried to figure out which one to use.  
He finally held decided to grab a small knife. 

“Now, prepare fo- _HOW DID YOU GET OUT?!_ ”

He turned around only to see Dib standing beside the table, readjusting his coat. 

“Zim, I sorta don’t have time for this. I need to find your future self first so-“

Mini Zim gasped. His ruby eyes started to sparkle. “Has my future self finally made you into a slave and conquered this pathetic ball of filth?!?!”

“W-what- No! I just need to find him so we could figure out how to get back to the future”. Dib giggled at the unintended reference of that 90s movie he made. 

“So Zim sees you finally realise that you need Zim’s greatness and very intelligent mind!” the alien bragged with his head up high. 

“Oh for fu- I’m just gonna leave now and you go do whatever you were doing before meeting me. You can dissect me another time”. 

“Zim will not take orders from the Dib-thing who is now dependent on future Zim greatn- Hey wait!” 

Mini Zim scampered towards Dib as he walked out of the room. He leaped into the front of the human and had his pak legs protruded out to carry himself up, making him a little taller. 

“Zim wishes to know what the future holds! Zim orders you to tell him!!!!!!” The little Irken shrieked. 

Dib rolled his eyes with his hands crossed. 

“Look. I might mess up the future if I tell you too much stuff. And I’m not dependant on Zim! And Zim isn’t dependent on me! We just gotta put our brains together to figure out how to get back cause’ if we work alone, the process might take longer and we might be trapped in the past! Or just fade away into emptiness”. 

“ _Why are you intending to put your brains together?!?!_ ”. Mini Zim did not understand this phrase at all and seemed a bit concerned. 

“Not literally!! I mean like working together!! Like partners!!!”

“ _Partners??Wait are you saying that, in the future, we are mates?!_ ”. Mini Zim looked confused and shocked with a slight tint of red on his cheeks. 

“ _ **NONONONONO BITCH! YOU’RE TAKING THIS THE WRONG WAY**_ ”

Dib could feel his face heat up. This younger version of Zim is more clueless and it’s giving him more stress than normal.  
He looked back at the still confused Irken. Dib notices the slight redness on the alien’s face. Mini Zim was still waiting for an explanation. 

“We’re still mortal enemies. We’re not dating or anything like that. But right now, I just need to find him and we could go back, then only, he could continue his world domination plans and I’ll try to stop it”. 

“Zim still hasn’t conquer Earth?! Pathetic!!” The alien spouted with his arms crossed, while retracting his spider legs. 

Dib sat down next to Irken. 

“Hey don’t let yourself down like that! You’re actually a pretty cool person when you’re not doing evil stuff and punching me in the face”. Dib froze. These words accidentally poured out of his mouth without realising. 

He nervously turned away from the alien. 

“Taller Dib-thing thinks Zim is... pretty cool?”

Dib was a little surprised with this response. Mini Zim sounded like he was genuinely surprised. Something he didn’t expect from a younger version of Zim. 

“Yeah. Just minus the maniacal side of you, then you’re a cool dude”. Dib smiles and nudges the Irken’s shoulder gently. 

Mini Zim hated to admit it but, the compliment made him _not_ want to beat Dib up but he doesn’t really know why.   
This feeling. The way Dib says it was... genuine?   
Was that the word?  
It wasn’t something that he gets everyday for sure. Without realising, his face was lit up with happiness. 

“This other Dib-thing is way better than the normal stinki Dib”, he thought to himself. 

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you this. What do you like think about the current me?” Dib asked. He was hoping he would get an answer since this Zim was in a happy mood. 

Mini Zim kept quiet for a moment before answering. “Current Dib is annoying and filthy and pathetic! Always ruining Zim’s plans and that ugly gigantic head of his!”

Dib did expect this answer. But deep down, he felt... sad? Disappointed...?

“But future Dib seems nic- less annoying and filthy and pathetic. Maybe that’s why you are not dead yet”, the alien continued with his arms on his hips. 

“Aww thanks man”

“Do not look too deeply into this, less pathetic filthy Earth worm!”. The Irken proceeds to hit Dib in the head.

.......................

Older Zim was still being chased by younger Dib. He tried to not lead the boy to his base and hoped he’d loose him eventually but the kid was persistent. 

“Zim does not wish to cause the Dib trouble!!!!”

“Yeah, you’d WANT me to believe you!!”

Zim knew that the kid will not stop until he either gets hurt or Zim stops. 

Zim sighed and slowed down. Soon little Dib managed to catch up with him.  
Dib had a rather confused look. He stared at Zim as the two walk side by side. 

“What? Can’t handle Zim’s greatness?”

“What?! N-no!! Why would I EVEN- .... Why’d you stop? What’s your game, y-you green bug?”

Zim snickered. Teasing Dib is still fun no matter how old the human is. 

“No games. Zim just wants to go back to Zim’s base, well.. smaller Zim’s base, but, it’s still Zim’s either way”

“Are you two teaming up? The current Zim can’t defeat me so he asks his future self for help?! That’s low!”

“Of course that’s ‘low’. That’s why it’s not happening. Zim is gonna go find future Dib and we’ll solve this issue together”

Younger Dib was baffled by Zim’s statement until he accidentally tripped and fell. _Zim?? Working together??? Impossible!!!_

Zim let out a laugh before squatting down next to younger Dib. 

“You??? Working together with my future self??? Nice try! I’m not falling for that!”

“Oh naive, tiny, adorable Dib-human thing. It appears you already fell just now”

“No! Not literally fall bu- HEY HOW DARE YOU CALL ME ADORABLE, Y-YOU GREEN GIRAFFE THING!!!”

Little Dib felt his face heat up with embarrassment. This older Zim is worse than ever.

“Giraffes are tall and you know very well that being tall is a compliment for an Irken, so Zim thanks you for your praises, squeaky one”

Zim pat the younger Dib on the head before messing his hair up. Messing around with this kid is somewhat amusing for the alien. Of course, he messes with older Dib all the time, so it was a pretty easy thing that comes naturally. 

“Stop twisting my words!! What the hell happened to you?! Aren’t you supposed to go and plan some evil schemes while I stop you?!?! Why are you doing this to me?!?!!?!”

Zim poked Dib’s nose before getting up. 

“Messing with Dib is still more fun”

The alien then started waking again. Little Dib still followed him. 

“So you still wanna follow the almighty Zim?”

“Your little mind tricks won’t stop me, Zim!! I won’t surrender just by some teasing!”

“Zim hopes mini-Dib knows that Zim knows all your cringey secrets and embarrassing moments. And Zim will not be afraid to use it against you” 

_“I am not scared!”_

“Well, you asked for it. _Now the fun will really start_ ”. The alien faced the boy with a wide sinister grin, making younger Dib a little nervous.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have a plan. 
> 
> Sorta. 
> 
> Well in a way.

“So you wanna come along? We’re gonna go find future you at the convenience store so you could bring a long a couple of bucks incase you wanna buy anything”, Dib asked the tinier version of Zim before he stepped out of the house. 

Mini Zim had already put on his disguise and walked out the door, right pass Dib. 

“Zim is not ‘coming along’ you! Zum will just be _observing_ you. Now hurry up, less pathetic Dib-filth!”

“Wait I have an idea”

“What id- h-Hey put me down, stinky human!!”

Dib carried the smaller Irken and placed him on his back. Sorta like giving him a piggyback ride. 

“Now you’re taller! You could climb up onto my shoulders if you wanna be taller though”. 

“I’ve been an asshole to Zim’s past self so it’s time I make it up for him”, Dib thought to himself and smiled.  
He felt bad for hurting the poor alien even if this version of Zim would’ve really kill him if he had the chance to and was really evil. 

Mini Zim was out of words. He was confused towards Dib’s actions but he didn’t really want to go against it. The alien has never did anything like this before so it was pretty exciting.  
He climbed a little bit more and stood on Dib’s shoulders, gripping the raven hair tightly. This would be how he would see the world if he used his pak legs. 

“Ready, space boy?”

“Absolutely!!”

Mini Zim held onto Dib’s hair as he started to run. Dib made sure that it wasn’t too fast for the alien so he wouldn’t fall off. 

He soon heard laughter. It was a genuine one, which had no trace of evil and it came from mini Zim. Dib smirked and joined the excited little Irken. 

.........

Zim laughed evilly. Tears nearly rolled down his eyes as he tortured the younger Dib. Tortured the younger Dib with teases and embarrassing moments that his future self had done

“No you’re lying!! Lies!! That never happened!! You can’t possibly trick me, Zim!! Lies!!”

“Aww the Dib-thing is starting to talk like Zim”

“N-no stop! Why are y-you doing this?!?! J-just beat me up al-already!! Why aren’t y-you punching m-me o-or something?!”

“Oh you know how you had cameras all over my base? Like every square inch? Don’t feel bad because Zim too did the same thing to your room. Except we Irkens have a more efficient way to get dressed unlike you inferior humans. All vulnerable and pathetic”

_**“WHATS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!!?!”**_

Of course, Zim wouldn’t actually do such thing. He only said that to get on little Dib’s nerves. The Irken chuckled as the 13 year old was pleading for mercy. 

“If the tiny Dib wants to continue following Zim like a paparazzi and a celebrity, then the Dib-thing shall suffer”

“Not this way!! _Not this way!!!!_ ” cried the little boy. 

When they reached inside Zim’s base, they tried searching for older Dib and perhaps younger Zim but unfortunately, the two were not found.

“Found them?” Zim asked. 

Little Dib shook his head. The two had their hands on their hips and started to wonder where older Dib was. 

Then, Gir walked in.

“Heya master!!! You tall!!! Oo! Mary’s here!! I go make waffles!!!” The robot screamed in excitement and rolled around a few times before heading towards the kitchen. 

“Highly doubt Gir saw them anywhere”, younger Dib said. 

“Perhaps Dib might be at the convenience store looking for me?”

“Pfft you wish, alien freak”

......

Zim looked around the convenience store to spot older Zim. 

“Did you spot yourself yet? You’re a little bit taller in the future”. Mini Zim still stood on his shoulders, looking around as he tried to catch a glimpse of himself. 

“Zim is?! _I mean of course Zim is!! Why wouldn’t Zim grow taller?!_ How dare that lady think Zim will not grow taller?!?!” The Irken proceeds to point at an innocent random stranger who is actually not so innocent because she’s currently shoplifting.

_“Dib??”_

Dib turned around. He looked down and saw his younger sister. Well, his younger version of his younger sister. 

“Oh hey Gaz!”

“Greetings Dib-sister!”

“What did Zim do this time?” Gaz asked. 

“ _Zim did not do anything!! How dare you accuse the poor innocent Zim?!_ ”

Gaz looked at Dib, waiting for an explanation. 

“Well, you see, I came from the future an-”  
“Yeah yeah that’s the obvious part. I wanna know why Zim is standing on your shoulders like some kind of 8 year old”, Gaz interrupted. 

“Uhh for fun. Also have you, by chance, seen an older and taller Zim walking around?”

“ _ **Older Zim’z here too?!**_ ”

“ _I’ll uhh take that as a no_. I hope that idiot’s safe and not somehow lost”

“Taller Dib-thing cares about future Zim’s whereabouts? What???”. 

“Well I am looking for him. It’s be a bummer if he up and died or something”

“ _ **HAH! I GUESS MY WISH CAME TRUE!**_ ”

“ _Aw come on!_ ”

The three turned towards the entrance of the store and saw older Zim carrying younger Dib by the waist with one hand.  
Zim then proceeds to drop little Dib on the ground. 

Dib carried mini Zim down and ran towards the older one. 

Zim too ran towards Dib. Their arms were wide open and when they were close enough, they gave each other a painful punch in the guts.  
They took a step back, groaning in pain while holding their stomach. 

Then only did they hug. 

“Did you get lost or something, you idiot?”

“It was _you_ who did not stay at the base. I also found a rat”. Zim proceeds to carry younger Dib like how that baboon in The Lion King carried Simba.  
He shoved younger Dib into Dib’s face. The alien was holding back laughter. 

“Jeez Zim, at least I was nice to younger you. Pretty sure you gave two years of therapy”. 

Zim places younger Dib down. Little Dib looked at his older self and nodded with a traumatised expression. 

“ _Is it true that Zim saw you shirtless before?_ ” whispered the trembling 13 year old. 

Dib turned towards Zim furiously. The alien had a cheeky grin and turned away. 

“You _motherfucker!_ “

He then turned to his younger self and said, “Zim’s delusional. Don’t listen to him. Whatever he said was a lie just like his social life”.

Younger Dib just stood back alongside his sister and mini Zim.  
The three watched as Dib choked Zim outside the store. Zim was still laughing and wasn’t really fighting back while Dib yelled, “ _We talked about this!_ ”

“What on Irk happened to us?”. Mini Zim was worried. 

“Are they fighting or what?”. Little Dib didn’t think their older selves were actually having a battle. No one looked hurt, instead both future Zim and Dib were laughing and smiling. 

“The both of you are gonna act like a couple in the next couple of years. Get ready”, Gaz said as she drank a can of soda. 

.....

After things resolved, they all bought something at the store and went to the nearby park to sit down and rest. 

“Psst guys. Check it out”. Gaz called younger Zim and Dib to observe what their future selves were doing from behind the bushes. 

Zim handed Dib a food container. 

Dib looked up from his laptop and stared at the container. 

“Here. You haven’t eaten since last night, Zim can tell your inferior human body is starving”. 

“Zim, you didn’t have to. I ate an energy bar just now-”

“Those pathetic so called ‘energy’ bars are only called that to get humans like you to buy it. Now consume what has been offered, stinki”

Dib sighed and closed his laptop. He held the container and opened it.  
Zim took a seat next to him and observed the teen. 

Inside the container was some roast chicken, potatoes and a few veggies. Steam still came from it. 

The alien proudly smile as he saw a smile appear on Dib’s face.  
“Zim just heated it up at the convenience store, but it’ll do”.

Dib used the plastic knife and fork provided. His honey coloured eyes lit up the moment he took a bite.  
He had been subconsciously dismissing his hunger for the past few hours. This felt relieving. 

“Aren’t you having anything?” Dib asked. He was still munching, so it was a little muffled. 

“You know very well us Irkens do not need to consume as much as your inferior species. But yes, Zim did get himself a bar of chocolate”. 

Without realising, Dib had already finished his food. He looked at the bar of chocolate that Zim was eating. 

It was.. tempting. 

It was like as if it was calling his name

Dib’s eyes were locked onto the chocolate bar. It looked like it was shining as the evening sun reflected on it. 

Dib then stared at Zim. Hoping the alien notices.  
Zim did. And when he did, Dib pointed his eyes at the chocolate bar and looked back at the alien. 

“Dib no”

“Dib yes”

He tired to reach the chocolate bar but Zim pushes him back with his other free arm. 

“You two are officially boyfriends”, Gaz whispered with a smirk. 

“What the fuck happened to us, Zim?!”

“D-d not worry. Zim has asked future Dib and he has clarified that we are not l-lovers”

“I had a horrible experience with future you and I honestly don’t think I could see you the same way anymore” 

Both younger Zim and Dib just sat down and stared at the grass. Contemplating life. 

“Oh hey. You two are talking about a plan now”, informed Gaz. 

“-Like y’know that movie we watched, Back To The Future. The fact that we’re not disappearing and fading away means we’re still in the safe zone and didn’t do anything bad. I may not remember all this happening but I’m getting a shit lot of deja vu”

“So you’re saying, we managed to make a mind eraser device and erased the memories of our interactions with our past selves? It might be a possibility”.  
Zim placed his hand on his chin and started to think. 

“We watched Back To The Future?!?!” exclaimed younger Dib and looked at younger Zim.  
“ _The Irk is that?_ ”

“I think my dad is working on some kind of mind erasing thing at this time. He might have some research files that we could use. But I highly doubt it’s in the lab under our house though since he’s working with his colleagues on it”

“So then where shall we find these files?”

“His workplace. We’ll have to find a way to sneak in.”

”Zim discarded his time machine, so we’ll have to use yours”

“God. You sound more annoying when you’re working together”, complained Gaz with her arms crossed as she walked up to the two. 

“Hey we’re the ones trapped in the past and will most probably fade into nonexistence if we mess up”, Dib responded, “Wait do you have a plan?”

Gaz had a smirk on her face. 

.......

“Ah yes I am the Professor Membrane, just bringing my two children and some ali- perfectly normal human beings”, Dib said in a very obnoxious voice as he walked pass a bunch of other scientists.  
He wore a lab coat and goggles. Becoming an exact replica of his father. 

Gaz, his younger self and the two Zims walked beside him, all wearing a lab coat. Dib was in the middle of course. 

The real Professor Membrane was actually still in his lab but he’s too focused and doesn’t really come out of there. 

“This place is huge”, Zim whispered, “How are we gonna find these files?”

“Do we really have to forget about today?” asked mini Zim. 

“Yes. Yes we really, really do”, little Dib insisted, recalling his horrible experience with future Zim. 

“Hey scientist guy. Where’s the files to that mind eraser research thing?” Gaz threatened a random by passer who wore a lab coat.

She frightened the poor guy. He was trembling as he answered, “U-uh here. T-the.. lo.. the location’s on t..this this t..tablet”. 

Gaz snatched the tablet and walked towards the others. 

The others just stared in awe. 

...

They had to go down the elevator to find the files. As they walked pass white and bright the halls of this gigantic laboratory, a few scientists ran after who they assumed to be Professor Membrane, but actually was his son in disguise. 

“Professor!! There’s an emergency!! The mutated octopus that we’ve been studying is breaking loose!”

Dib turned around. He got nervous since he had no idea what is going on or what should he do. 

“Isn’t there some kind of security thing to handle situations like this?” Zim asked.  
He noticed Dib was having a hard time responding, so decided to step in.

“Yes but they’ve been taken out by the creature. We were hoping you could step in. Calling the government is a last resort. Plus this experiment _is_ sorta illegal”, the scientist answered honestly. 

“Uh- well, ok. What do we need to do?” Dib asked, still making an obnoxious voice to try to sound like his dad. 

......

“You sure we should let _them_ join us?” Dib whispered. 

All five of them held a long taser stick-thing. When they stepped into a half lit room, the metal door behind them shut closed.  
The light flickered, revealing a gigantic octopus like creature slowly turning towards them. 

“Hey! We may be younger than you but we still can fight!” Mini Zim hissed. He already had his pak legs out. 

“We just gotta electrocute this thing till it faints. What could go wrong?” little Dib asked. 

“Every time a person says ‘what could go wrong’, everything goes wrong”, Gaz complained. 

The octopus slowly slithered closer to them. 

“We don’t have a plan right?” Dib unbuttoned his lab coat and took off his goggles. He finally could breath properly. 

“Well, the octopus has a rather hard skin. Must be that mutation part thing. So maybe we could try making it blind or something”, Gaz said. 

“Only future Zim’s pak legs could get up there. So we gotta distract the octopus while Zim blinds it”, elaborated Dib. 

They all looked at each other and nodded confidently. This will be interesting. 

They all sprinted towards the octopus before splitting apart.  
They dodged and lead the gigantic tentacles around one another, eventually making it into knot. 

As younger Dib ran, he didn’t realise the incoming attack from above. When he looked up, it was too late.  
He was swatted across the room. 

The impact of hitting the wall was painful. 

The 13 year old got up only to see another tentacle coming to squish him. The kid’s heart sank to the bottom of his stomach in fear.  
He then shut his eyes closed, expecting to feel crushed into bits. 

But after a few seconds, it didn’t happen. He snapped open his eyes and looked up. 

There was a grinning alien. Zim was holding back the force of the octopus using his back and pak legs. 

“Just gonna stand there and witness Zim’s greatness? Well Zim is sorry to say, this might not never the best time, Dib-rat”, the alien teased.  
He was using all his strength to hold back the heavy, strong and gigantic tentacle. But he didn’t want to show that he was getting tired in front of the younger Dib. 

Younger Dib was confused towards the Irken’s act but he was happy about it. Happy knowing that this Irken does care deep down. 

They got out of the way and watched as the tentacle collapsed onto the ground. Making the floor rumble slightly. 

Dib ran into the two and stopped. 

“Octo here is at a disadvantage now. So chances of you getting swatted like a fly when leaping towards it is , unfortunately, low”, Dib teased.  
He was panting, slightly tired. Sweat was rolling down his face but wiped it off. 

“Looking tired, Dib-stink”, Zim replied. 

The two stood next to each other and faced the humongous sea creature. Gripping tightly on the tasing stick with both of their hands. A mischievous expression on their face. 

“I’ll make it think I’m gonna attack it so the chances of your life span being longer is even more likely”. Dib stared at the octopus’s eyes coldly. 

“Oh please, Zim’s an Irken. We were born to battle and conquer”, the alien sassed. 

The two launches at the octopus. Dib hopped onto the tentacles while yelling, hoping to get the creatures attention.  
He succeeded. 

Soon, he was continuously being attacked, sharp tentacles launching at him. But the teen managed to dodge every single one of it gracefully. 

His younger version was staring in awe. His mouth and eyes wide open. The golden in his eyes glittered. 

“The taller Dib is better than you will very be”, Mini Zim admitted as he stood next to the boy. 

“But he _is_ me! Woah... That _is_ me”. 

“But future Zim is still more impressive”. Mini Dib crossed his arms. 

“Pfft yeah right”

“ _How dare the filthier Dib-thing ‘pffft’ Zim?!_ ”

The two started bickering. Punches started to be thrown next.  
They were distracted and did not see the incoming attack. 

Before they could react, they were hit. But before colliding into the hard metal wall, they were snatched by the leg. 

“You guys are absolute idiots”, Gaz said as she lets them down. 

Meanwhile, Zim finally leaped and stabbed the octopus in the eye using the sharp tasing stick. A transparent goop flowed down.  
The alien cringed in disgust. His tongue slightly sticking out. 

The octopus screeched in pain as the alien head towards the other eye, then blinding it completely. 

He slid down the collapsing creature and gave Dib a high five(or high three? High five-three? God ducking knows) . They both laughed, feeling relieved. 

.....

After resolving everything and getting the files, they all decided to have dinner at Bloaty’s. 

“Today was really something”, little Dib admitted as he took a large bite out of his pizza slice. 

All of them looked like they just survived the apocalypse, clothing looked slightly torn and dirty, hair all messy, slight bruises and scratches. 

”Quiet a shame, we’d have to forget this”, Mini Zim admitted. He was stuffing a bunch of snacks in giant mouth, so his voice was a little muffled. 

Zim and Dib knew the younger kids would be very hungry after such a day. So they let them have most of the food.  
Gaz was the only one that noticed this. She hated to admit it but she felt..... she sorta felt bad. 

The two were letting them eat everything while they just watch, most probably as hungry as they are. 

“Idiots”, Gaz muttered without anyone hearing. 

Mini Zim was actually pretty confused and deep in thought. He was pretty exhausted but he wasn’t comfortable letting his guard down especially when he sat next to his mortal enemy.  
Then again, this feeling of knowing your safe made him feel a little more relaxed. 

The feeling of knowing your safe because you are no longer alone and you are surrounded by those who will help not hurt. 

_Is this..... what humans call...a family?_

_But they are not really biologically bonded_

_Perhaps family is not really based on being blood related?_

Little did he know younger Dib was thinking the same thing. 

_He was convinced Gaz was the only family he had._

_His father barely cares about his existence let alone his dreams._

_Sometimes he thought the concept of family some unreachable dream_

_But perhaps someone doesn’t have to be blood related to be family?_

He glanced at the little Irken next to him who was staring out the window. Younger Dib smiled slightly, knowing that this person next to him is willing to save him when he’s in trouble. 

Zim decided to go through the files with Dib. The two where leaning next to each other as they read the files. Both were pretty tired so they used each other as support. 

“We could go back to my base. I think I have the materials to make it a little faster than if we head to your lab. We could go later once it’s done and use the time machine you have”

Dib chuckled softly as Zim explained.

Hearing the Irken stop talking in third person was something that didn’t happen very often.  
It made him sound so serious and mature all of a sudden.

“How long do you think it’s gonna take?” Dib asked.


	3. Goodbye Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some neat wholesome stuff ;>

Younger Dib and Gaz had fallen asleep and were in sleeping bags, while the other three were down at the lab working on the mind eraser. 

It was late. Nearly 3 o’clock in the morning and Dib was getting drowsy. His eyelids were heavy, his neck felt was sore. 

Zim notices this and sighs. 

“Go sleep, stinki”. He then messes up Dib’s hair. 

“But... w-we...we’re- we’re done alm... almost done”. His words are starting to tangle up as he spoke. The dizziness was not helping either. 

“Exactly. So you can go rest while Zim and little Zim finish it. Just take a nap, Dib-filth”

Dib grabbed the desk in response, refusing to go anywhere.  
Zim pulled the human off with ease and carried him. 

Dib was placed on a empty sleeping bag not so far from the other sleeping kiddos. 

“Zim will wake you up when we’re done. It won’t be long. You can just lay here. We’ll be right over there”. Zim placed his finger on Dib’s forehead and pushed him down slowly. 

It may not never the most comfortable thing, but it was still relaxing. 

“Want a bedtime story, Dib-filth?” the Irken teased as he poked Dib’s nose. 

Dib turned away and pushed the alien’s face away. 

“I will skin you alive, zim zam”, the teen mumbled.

Zim snickered. He then took off Dib’s glasses and placed it next to him before getting up and leaving. 

“Honestly, what happened?” Dib’s younger self asked, shifting a little closer to his future self. 

“Wha...?”

“What the hell happened to Zim? He tried to kill us multiple times and now he’s... _that!_ “

“I... honestly don’t know either. To be completely honest, I.... I didn’t really notice how much he’s changed until today. But I’m sure we’ll figure it out”, Dib said, “For now, we rest”.

“He said you looked cute when you tied your hair up into two short pigtails”, mini Dib whispered. 

“ _SLEEP_ ”

....

Mini Zim was asking a lot of questions about the future. Zim just decided to answer them truthfully since his younger self is gonna forget about all this eventually. 

“So does future Zim intend to _not_ kill the Dib-human now?” the curious little Irken asked. 

“.... Guess not”. Zim glanced at Dib who was now sound asleep.   
“Actually.. I.. I’m not sure about the whole invasion thing anymore”.

“ _What?? Wouldn’t the Tallests be upset??_ ”

Zim sighed. 

There was something that he couldn’t tell his younger self. It was something that he might not understand at this point in time. 

Mini Zim just stared while his future self tried to think of something to say.   
His antennas twitched, sensing something was off. 

The little Irken scooted closer. 

“Is it because you have been infected by the Earth virus and has done the ‘develop feelings’ for the filthy human?” mini Zim asked with suspicion. 

He received a punch in his squeglyspooch. The little Irken groaned in pain as he lay on the floor. 

“ _Nonono! Shut! You’re supposed to beon my side!!_ ” There was a tint of red on Zim’s cheeks as he angrily stared at his younger self that betrayed him. 

He glanced back to see whether he had waken up anyone. Fortunately, the other humans were too tired and didn’t move a muscle.

......................

“Guess this is goodbye”, Dib said. 

It was around 5 am and all five of them were at the lab under Membrane’s house.

Gaz was holding the mind eraser towards the younger versions of Zim and Dib.  
It was shaped like a gun except it looked a little different. 

“Wait why isn’t the Dib-sister getting her mind erased too?” Mini Zim asked.

“I don’t _want_ to”, Gaz had a cold stare that sent shiver down the boys’ spines. 

The two gulped and nodded. 

All of them were very frightened by Gaz, even the older versions, and knew better than to upset her.  
With that, the two left through the time machine and Gaz wiped the younger two minds’ clean of the memories. 

.....

The two landed on the floor of Zim’s living room. 

Dib groaned as he got up. He jumped when he saw his sister sitting on the couch next to a pile of pizza boxes. Zim too was a little surprised. 

She grinned when she saw their expressions. 

“I’m not an idiot. I memorised the time and date that you dumbasses would return and I knew you two didn’t eat a proper dinner”, Gaz said. Her arms and legs crossed. 

The two boys were still shocked and just stared. Speechless. 

“Uhh a thank you would be g-“

Gaz was hugged by the two boys tightly. They felt so happy knowing that Gaz’ll always have their back no matter what.  
Even if she doesn’t really show it that much. 

She tried to free herself from the grip of the two smelly boys but soon decided to give in. 

After a minute, she was freed.

The two boys grabbed and devoured the pizzas within seconds. It was like as if they haven’t eaten in days. 

Soon the two fell asleep on the floor surrounded by empty pizza boxes. 

Gaz smirked and threw a blanket over the two. But Gaz being Gaz, she took this opportunity to scribble on the boys’ faces with marker. Gir helped her do that.  
She took a photo of the two, for blackmail, before leaving the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally supposed to be a short 1 chapter thing but oh welp
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did making it^^


End file.
